‘When trade stops, sometimes war starts’ – Jack Ma

The tit-for-tat exchanges between the world’s two largest economies, China and the US, may lead to a possible military conflict, according to Alibaba founder Jack Ma. He has warned that a trade war would “hurt everybody.”

Talking at the World Trade Organization Public Forum in Geneva, Ma said: “When trade stops, sometimes the war starts. So trade is the way to stop wars.”

He said that “Trade is the way to build up trust” and “not the weapon [with which] to fight against each other.”

The businessman expressed confidence that Beijing and Washington should “work together to solve this challenge, create more jobs, cure poverty, use technology to solve disease and the environment – instead of this kind of war.”

“It’s going to destroy not only China-US trade but also lots of other countries and small businesses,” warned Ma. The billionaire repeated his previous suggestion that the stand-off may last 20 years.

Ma had previously acknowledged that the ongoing spat with China’s largest trade partner was also hurting Alibaba’s business. Last month, he said that his promise to US President Donald Trump to create one million jobs in the US is no longer valid and viable after Washington slapped Beijing with new round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods.